How To Survive A Slow Property Chain

I have never heard so many buyers and sellers complaining about the speed of a property transaction, it doesn’t seem to make any difference if a cash buyer purchasing an empty house, it can take months.

However, lets be fair its sometimes a complex transaction, especially if there are many parties involved. So, lets go through the processed see if we can give you some insider hints and tips,  to help manage that chain.

First and foremost I think communication is key. I know its frustrating at times and you feel like screaming at someone- but that rarely helps. So keep good line of communication with your selling agent, and if different, your buying agent, and of course your solicitor in the pas, and you were happy, in this market place you might be better of sticking with them.

We stick to fact, there is a process and it follows a very similar pattern every time. A buyer will offer on a house, they will typically need finance from a mortgage company, who will conduct a valuation. That can be desk top/ drive by or a physical inspection. Assuming all is ok a formal mortgage will be issued to the buyer, and a copy to the solicitor. In the meantime the solicitors will be dealing with contract enquiries- in plain English, this means one solicitor will raise questions to the other, this can be time consuming, especially where answers are not known, or forthcoming. So its up to everybody in the chain to do their bit, constantly chase your solicitor, check emails, respond quickly and you’ll be surprised how much time you can save…. that said if there is an unresponsive party in the chain, it may all be in vain.

So, you’ve got this far. All questions answered, finance is in place- and assuming everyone in the chain is at the same stage, you’re all ready to exchange contracts. At this point, the parties will agree a completion date. Which can be the same day as exchange, or typically upto 14 days later. If its the same day I think it can be more stressful, because if something has been missed, one party cannot exchange or complete- you are all in a nightmare. Trust me we’ve seen it , thankfully not too frequently, but once is too many times! So at least if there is a week in between, the pressure is off a little…. but there is still plenty to do. Packing, packing and more packing.

Finally… COMPLEATION DAY! arrives, the day you had over your keys to the buyer. The sellers solicitor will receive the buyers monies. and then normally rings the estate agents to give permission to release the keys…. Please note we CANNOT do so until we’ve got permission ( This can be anytime between 9:00 and 17:00hrs). So, if you’re the buyer-ring the estate agent you’re buying from to check to see if they have permission to release the keys. That will alleviate one wasted journey, on a already hectic day. Once you’ve got the keys, you’re nearly home.

First job, check the house, then read the meters ( Photograph them too) and unpack. Collapse, and vow to never do that again….. certainly not until next time.